Off-Field landing

Morgans wrote:
So he flight planned a trip of some 550 nm without a fuel stop. I don't
know diddly about Mooneys, but iirc, 550 nm is pushing it pretty hard in
most singles, yes? He said he had 49 gallons leaving ABQ, and flew about
5:20. 9.2 gph. Is that about right for a Mooney?


I was able to google the capacity of a m20a at 64 useable gallons. The
problem was that he left with more air in his tanks than he could have, or
tried to run with not enough reserve. Also, he must not have kept track of
his fuel burn, and time aloft. Short and sweet, he screwed up, in a number
of ways, and is lucky to be able to admit it, now.

Jim in NC



Jim;
I'm not sure where you googled a fuel cap of 64 gallons for a m20A. The
specs I found were 35 stand and 52 extended range or another site that
said 48 gallons, which agrees with what I had thought. 75% cruise is
156 knots so it would seem that the flight would have been well within
range. As I recall from the ntsb report the pilot said he had 49 usable
on board at takeoff which would match with the full fuel numbers. I
don't recall what the winds aloft where on the flight but it would seem
reasonable that the flight should have been doable. Also the flight
departed around 1300 and ended at 1720 which is 4:20 by my math. ( I
know you did not supply the 5:20 number )

John

"John Theune" wrote

Jim;
I'm not sure where you googled a fuel cap of 64 gallons for a m20A.

Well, if it was on the internet, it must be right, correct? g

The site I was at was definitely talking about the m20a, and as I recall, it
was 112 liters per side, useable. That worked out to 64 gallons. If that
does not figure, my memory about the liters was wrong.

The specs I found were 35 stand and 52 extended range or another site that
said 48 gallons, which agrees with what I had thought. 75% cruise is 156
knots so it would seem that the flight would have been well within range.
As I recall from the ntsb report the pilot said he had 49 usable on board
at takeoff which would match with the full fuel numbers. I don't recall
what the winds aloft where on the flight but it would seem reasonable that
the flight should have been doable. Also the flight departed around 1300
and ended at 1720 which is 4:20 by my math. ( I know you did not supply
the 5:20 number )

I would be surprised if your site was right, only based on the fact that
Moonies usually have very long legs; usually somewhere at least around 750NM
with reserves.

Who knows, and really, at this point, who cares. The pilot should have know
what his time aloft with reserves was, and landed *before* the fan stopped,
when the timer reached zero and the fuel was all gone.
--
Jim in NC

as I recall, it was 112 liters per side, useable. That worked out to 64 gallons. If that does not figure, my memory about the liters was wrong.

1.1 quarts per liter, 4 quarts per gallon. To the nearest one...
112 liters * 1.1 = 123 quarts
123 qquarts / 4 = 31 gallons
per side = 62 gallons total usable. Close enough.

Jose
--
Money: what you need when you run out of brains.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

"John Theune" wrote in message news:q6txf.10798

..... Also the flight departed around 1300 and ended at 1720 which is 4:20
by my math. ( I know you did not supply the 5:20 number )

The report specified that the flight ended at 1720 PST, which was local
time, so I am presuming that when they referenced the take off time as 1300
they used local time for that also. The departure point was ABQ, which is
in MST. If that's the case, he would have been in the air for 5:20.